No Birds No Crickets
by morph
Summary: One of my fave. parts of the movie through the witch's POV. NEWLY EDITED!


I got this idea for this fic as I was watching Sleepy Hollow one night. Included in it is one of my favorite parts in the movie, which is also the funniest part in my opinion. Sleepy Hollow is not mine at all. The version this fic is biased on is Tim Burton's.

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I knew they were coming, and where they were they were from. The squeamish constable, and the child now fatherless because of _him_. _Him_ and her, my sister. But no matter now. The forest had gone quiet. The earth knows when evil is about. I was busying myself with a cardinal when they entered. The constable was using the boy as a shield and had a pistol aimed. I was humming a spell. The door creaked open. "Pardon our intrusion," the constable said. "But, uh, perhaps you could help us." I knew why there were here. They needed guidance.

"You're from the hollow," I said. It wasn't a question.

"Yes, in a way," the constable said, verifying what I already knew. "I should like to say, I make no assumptions about your occupation," he continued, trying to be polite when it was obvious he was scared out of his mind. "Nor your ways, which, which-which, which are nothing to me, whatever you are. Each to his own."

I set down my cardinal to one side, thus verifying his suspicion of my witchcraft. "Oh," he gasped. I rose and faced them, my face and body veiled. As I approached them, they began to back away.

Finally, the boy spoke. "Do you know of the Horseman, ma'am?" he asked testily. "The Hessian?" Indeed, I knew of _him_, and what _he_ does. I drew a finger across my throat and made a characteristic slicing sound to symbolize decapitation, _his_ favorite style of execution. "That'll be him, ma'am," the boy said hastily as the constable turned them to go. But I was not finished yet. I grabbed the constable's shoulder.

"You, come with me," I ordered him. He looked terrified as I lead him away from the boy. "Go out child. Keep away," I said to him. "Whatever you hear, keep away."This was to protect both him and us. He has seen, and will see plenty terror without having to witness this. Plus, I could not have him interrupt us. I led the constable into the back room and sat him down at the table. I heard the boy scamper out and slam the door behind him. I sat across from the constable. He looked very worried.

"What might he hear that he must keep away from?" he asked as I shackled myself up. I stretched my arms out to test the chains. Satisfied that I could not reach him and thus harm him, I set to work to summon the Other.

"He rides," the demon cobalt stallion. "To the hollow and back," the trail of death, of damnation. "I hear him," always in the dark, the pounding, murderous hooves. "I smell the blood on him." The blood...so much blood... The mixture fizzled and smoked.

"Do you?" the constable asked. He was scared, but he wanted answers. "Well, I'm here to find him and make him stop." Finally, the terror could end, but I would need to help him. I added more ingredients, and picked up the bat basket. I shook it to make sure the bat was still alive. His blood would need to be fresh. I tipped the bat out and pinned him to the table. I grabbed the knife, ignoring the constable's look of disgust. He wanted answers? I was going to give them to him.

"You seek knowledge of the netherworld? I can show you." I decapitated the squirming bat and jammed the knife into the table. The constable's look of disgust deepened. I emptied the bat onto the mixture and it began to emit thick, purple smoke. Yes, the Other would come. I tossed the empty bat over my shoulder into the barrel of water behind me.

"What are you doing?" the terrified constable asked. I inhaled the smoke deeply, feeling the Other slowly enter my body.

"Don't move or speak," I instructed him. "When the Other comes, I will hold him." This was the only way to inform him... to stop the bloodshed. I wouldn't be long now.

"The Other?" the man asked. But I had no time to explain.

"Silence. He comes now." The Other began to take control. Slowly I hunched over the table.

"Madam?" the constable asked quietly. "Madam, do you hear me?" he whispered still, but I could not answer. The Other was rising. Allit needed now was provocation, and then the constable would know all he needed to know. He slowly leaded forward to touch me. He reached out his hand, and that's when the Other sprung. It was horrifying. I lunged forward, knocking over the table. I landed on top of the constable. The chains were near breaking, but they held.

_"You seek the warrior bathed in blood. The Headless Horseman,"_ I snarled as the Other tried to claw at his face. _"Follow the Indian trail to where the sun dies. Follow it to the Tree of the Dead. Climb down the Horseman's resting place."_ The Other shuddered asit left me and I slumped unconscious over the constable.

When I finally woke up, the constable and the boy were gone. It was the next morning, and I felt terribly ill. I always do after the Other. I also knew that _he_ had killed again. At least some people with good souls knew now, too. I unshackled myself and ventured outside. I took of my veil to get some fresh air to clear my head. I didn't see my sister with the axe until it was too late...


End file.
